movement and has spread to 49 nations. 



More than 4,500 hostels are now in operation 

 worldwide where traveling members can find a dor- 

 mitory bunk and communal kitchen. These hostels 

 include barns, castles, homes, old churches, railroad 

 stations, hotels, a three-masted sailing ship, and even 

 a former city jail. So far, however, growth of United 

 States hostels has been slow with few hostels outside 

 the Northeast and North Central regions. Of the 

 present 194 hostels chartered in the United States, 81 

 are actually motels or hotels which give hostelers a 

 discount. 



The projected growth of the recreational properties 

 market also has definite ramifications for the use of 

 forest and range lands. Currently, about 3.5 million 

 families in the United States own vacation homes, 

 which receive approximately 700 million person-days 

 of use a year. Present estimates are that between 12 

 and 15 million recreation lots, representing 6 million 

 acres of land, have been subdivided in the United 

 States. 3^ It is estimated that only one-third to one- 

 half of these lots have been sold. Regional trends in 

 the supply of recreational lots can be inferred from 

 statistics on recreational land projects containing 

 more than 50 lots and marketed to consumers outside 

 the State in which they are located. Figures suggest 

 that 82 percent of these projects are located in the 

 western and southern United States with half of all 

 recreational land projects in four States: Florida, 

 Texas, Arizona, and California. 



Most vacation home developments are located 

 within or near environmentally attractive areas and 

 can have significant impacts on those areas, especially 

 on lands that are publicly owned. For example, prop- 

 erties in close proximity to public land, such as those 

 set aside for wilderness, are especially appealing to 

 developers who assume that this land will remain in 

 an undeveloped primitive state. While these locations 

 ensure that a wide variety of recreational opportuni- 

 ties are available to the recreational property owner, 

 they can create problems for others. Impacts which 

 can result include environmental problems, such as 

 pollution, man-caused fires, the disruption of wild- 

 life, and increased use pressure on public lands; the 

 visual impacts of roadways and power, pipe, and 

 communication lines; and administrative problems, 

 such as impacts on resource management activities, 

 increased administrative costs, and obstacles to land 

 acquisition. 



Equally important are the impacts of recreational 

 property development on local communities. Often, 

 local governments can derive substantial revenues 

 from new developments, while the initial costs of util- 



J^Ragatz, R. L., op. cll. 



ities, roads, police and fire protection, and other ser- 

 vices are low. These costs can be expected to rise over 

 time, however. In the case of schools, educational 

 costs may exceed tax revenues if an influx of families 

 with school-aged children occurs. Other local impacts 

 may include the lack of commercial and industrial 

 bases from which rural governments can draw taxes, 

 and perhaps most significantly of all, the transfor- 

 mation of traditional rural cultures and lifestyles 

 (which attract the property owner in the first place) to 

 a more urban environment. 



Water activities — Over 12 million recreation boats 

 are owned and used in the United States (table 3.9). 

 This represents an increase of 34 percent between 

 1973 and 1976. The North Central region experienced 

 the largest increases in recreational boat ownership, 

 followed by the Pacific Northwest. 



One factor associated with the increasing interest in 

 the use of water for outdoor recreation is the reduc- 

 tion of pollution in many waterways. This has been 

 achieved by legislation such as the Water Quality Act 

 of 1965 and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

 Amendment of 1972. The improvement of recrea- 

 tional opportunities through pollution abatement has 

 been particularly significant near urban areas. Other 

 probable factors stimulating participation in water- 

 based recreation include the seemingly crowded condi- 

 tions associated with other alternative recreational 

 activities; rising energy prices and uncertain supplies 

 that have focused attention on close-to-home recrea- 

 tional pursuits; a growing number of books, maga- 

 zines, films, and advertisements about water-related 

 activities; and growth in the number of boat liveries 

 and commercial outfitters that provide relatively in- 

 expensive services. 



Presently, it is virtually impossible to fully assess 

 the supply situation for water activities in the United 

 States. Despite attempts by States to define their 

 water resources in statewide comprehensive outdoor 

 recreation plans, inventory data frequently are based 

 on varying assumptions and definitions. Conse- 

 quently, data cannot be aggregated among States and 

 collection agencies. Supply data seldom reflect the 

 suitability of the water for various recreational activi- 

 ties and pursuits. 



One may, however, assume that nearly all of the 

 Nation's 2 million rivers and streams are available for 

 recreational use, either for direct or indirect water 

 activities. This supply of waterways totals more than 

 3.2 million linear miles. Approximately 30,000 miles 

 of that total have been displaced by reservoirs. This 

 condition often has resulted in conflicting viewpoints 

 among persons with varying perspectives as to 

 appropriate use of available resources. In some areas 



87 



